BODEGA RESTAURANT REVIEW

3116 M Street Northwest
Washington D.C., DC 20007
(202) 333-4733



My mom, my sister, and I ventured to Bodega Spanish Tapas and Lounge in the heart of Georgetown for DC Winter Restaurant Week and here’s what I thought… We were greeted by the friendliest of waitresses and ushered to a cozy table. As we perused the menu, we marveled at the bold, yet chic décor. We each decided to go with the restaurant week special for $20.11 for the three course meal. The first course started with a choice of lentil soup or a house salad with a creamy Caesar-like dressing garnished with tomatoes and anchovies. Both were satisfactory. The second course offered one's choice of two tapas on the menu. For the second course I chose fried bacon wrapped dates. These are definitely an acquired taste. They were a bit too greasy and a few of the dates were overripe. The firm dates wrapped in bacon was a pleasant sweet and salty combination. Sadly, the fried potatoes with creamy and spicy Ali-Oli were the best thing I tried and we shared all tapas during this outing. The potatoes were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. My mom chose braised beef short rib in a Pepino pepper. The meat was savory and tender however, the pepper was overcooked. The second tapa my mom ordered was the sautéed button mushrooms in a garlic sauce. The flavor was nice, but when served the button mushrooms came mixed with shiitake mushrooms, which my mom does not care for. Thirdly, my sister ordered the grilled shrimp over saffron rice. The grilled shrimp was seasoned well, although the rice was undercooked. The other tapa she chose was the grilled chicken skewer over a bed of sautéed peppers. The chicken was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. Lastly, Bodega offered two dessert options to choose from; Arroz con Leche topped in cinnamon or a slice of traditional Spanish chocolate cake. The two options were fitting, but served ice cold! I prefer desserts be served room temperature for the exception of ice cream. After our meal we shared lattes at Starbucks and casually enjoyed the many shops Georgetown had to offer. Overall the restaurant is overrated and overpriced, but I am so glad I tried something new and had a great time in a great atmosphere with people I love. Oh well, back to La Tasca (http://www.latascausa.com/site/).